Chocolate Kiss
by Flambro
Summary: Killua & Gon return to Whale Island after the Chimera Ant arc. Oneshot vent after episode 130.


A hot summer sun bombarded Gon's exposed shoulders as he sat by the river. Cicadas were chirping alongside several birds. From this perspective, Gon could only see the top of his spiky black hair in the reflection of the water. He felt no desire to scoot forward in order to reveal his entire face. He wasn't sure he could even bear it.

Gon absently plucked at some of the grass underneath him. Touching the soil only reminded him of his recently broken promise to his Aunt. He'd told her that he wouldn't return home until he'd finally found and met his father, Ging. Yet, here he was. After the Chimera Ant uprising along with Kite's death, Gon just hadn't been as eager to continue his search for his dad. He hadn't given up. He had told Kite he would find Ging, after all. It just... didn't feel like the right time for that now. Too much had happened. He needed to rest.

Speaking of rest, he wondered how Killua was doing. After disregarding everything once the mission had started back then, their relationship had been strained. There was something that had been bothering Killua a lot lately, even before the mission. Thinking back to it, Gon realized the abnormal behavior had begun shortly before they even entered NGL. Concern and curiousity were really eating at him. Despite this, Gon just couldn't bring himself to ask Killua what was bothering him. It would just feel hypocritical after taking him for granted for him to be concerned now.

Gon's fists clenched at his sides and a tight knot formed in his throat. Fighting back a sudden threat of tears, Gon wondered how he'd become such a horrible friend. He was honestly surprised Killua came back with him to Whale Island.

"Yo." The nonchalant voice that suddenly appeared from behind made Gon jump. His brown eyes traveled over his shoulder and found Killua clutching a bag from the candy store. Had Killua used Nen to hide his presence? Probably not... Maybe Gon really was lost in thought. He tended to overthink things that didn't matter, as Killua put it.

"O-Oh. Hey." Gon quietly turned back towards the water, hoping to hide whatever expression had been on his face.

A moment of stillness passed before Killua finally moved and took a seat next to Gon. He felt his muscles tense up as Killua began rummaging through his back.

"Hey, Gon." Killua's voice was always authoritize whenever he addressed Gon, which is probably why he responded immediately. He didn't say anything, just made eye contact.

Killua's cool, calculating eyes held his gaze. Gon bit the inside of his lip. He knew there was no way to hide his feelings from an ex-assassin. The only thing he could do was wait quietly in anticipation.

"Do you want a kiss?"

"E-Eh?" Gon stared at him stupendously, his ears beginning to turn red despite himself.

Killua began to laugh in response as Gon's blush began to spread.

"A chocolate kiss," Killua giggled, holding up the wrapped candy. Gon pouted.

"That's mean, Killua!"

"Haha, sorry. You just seemed really serious over here all by yourself." He tossed the candy to Gon, who snatched it out of the air. He watched as Killua happily began pulling out some more candy. Why couldn't he ever tell what Killua was thinking or feeling? He must feel horrible right now too.

"I'm surprised you didn't buy out the whole candy store." Gon mumbled, a worried expression forming on his face once he saw the massive amounts of bubblegum.

"Hey, it's mean to buy out small businesses. They didn't have much anyway, since this place is in the middle of nowhere." Gon began to recall the time Killua had actually bought all the chocolate from that candy store during the tournament, only to show up the next day to remember he'd bought everything. Or the time when Killua obtained three different action figures and went into great detail the rarity and function of each one. Gon had just listened patiently, his awe of Killua's vast knowledge of toys and candy growing infinitely.

A silence formed between the two boys as Gon looked out over the river and Killua contently began eating his candy. Although Killua seemed fine, every moment that passed only strengthened the knot that was beginning to reform in his throat. He was tired of this. He just wanted to go back to being friends and training together and having fun. Something really horrible had just happened. They should be supporting each other, not awkwardly sitting side-by-side.

"Gon?" The young boy's brown eyes blinked in response. His eyes were wet. Raising a tanned hand to his face, he felt that tears had begun to stream down his face. Again, huh? He thought he'd cried everything out already.

"K-Killua..." Gon began, his fists clenching tighter. "Thank you... for coming back to Whale Island with me. I could tell you didn't want to, but..." Gon sniffled, keeping his gaze straight ahead. He could feel Killua stare at him for a moment before he also looked out on the river.

"You're right, I didn't want to come here." Straight to the point and a straight blow to his chest. Gon did everything in his power not to wince.

"But it's not the reason you think. Do you... remember when Bisky trained me that one night before we fought against Knuckle and Shoot?" Gon nodded.

"She told me that if I couldn't defeat Shoot, I didn't have the resolve to fight. That one day, my instincts would lead me to abandon you. She said that if I couldn't defeat Shoot, I couldn't stay with you anymore."

Gon's eyes widened as he turned to stare at Killua.

"I didn't want to leave you, Gon. Before I met you, I was like a drone. Just killing people on command and doing what I was told. You've really taught me how to live and because of that, you're my irreplacaeable friend."

Gon's mouth parted in awe when Killua met his gaze and smiled sadly.

"I did everything I could to protect you after that. But I... still feel like I don't-"

"Killua!" His voice was so loud that Killua jumped and immediately stopped speaking. Gon had his no-excuses face on and was staring him down. Oh boy, here it comes. He'd even leapt up from his position and was now crouching down next to him.

"You're my best friend! You deserve to stay by my side, always! Besides, who else am I going to introduce Ging to?"

"Your best friend in the whole world', yeah yeah." Killua sighed. "You always say the most embarrassing things. Despite what he was saying, Killua felt that his chest had begun to feel lighter. The corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Killua."

"Huh?"

"You are my best friend, but I didn't treat you like it at all. I was selfish and did things on my own and because of that, you got hurt. Really..." Gon suddenly grabbed Killua's pale hands. "I'm really, really sorry. You're very important to me, and I'll never treat you like that again. I promise." Gon made it a point to make direct eye contact as he said all of this. Killua just sat there, stunned and in a state of shock. It took a few moments for him to finally respond.

"Tch... There you go again, saying embarrassing stuff." Despite the smile on his face, Killua hid his eyes underneath his puffy white hair so that Gon couldn't see them begin to tear up. He had nothing to worry about anymore.

Killua pulled his hands out from Gon's grasped before holding out his pinky. Gon blinked.

"Pinky promise me then. Isn't that how you do these things?"

Gon's face lit up with one of his bright smiles as he eagerly took Killua's pinky with his own. The song started, Gon repeating exactly what he'd said before. Killua just sat there, smiling, as their hands went up and down to the rhythm of his words. Oh, and here comes that part at the end that apparently they only do here on Whale Island. Bring the pinkies together to seal with a...

"Kiss!" Before Killua knew it, Gon had very quickly pressed a real kiss onto his lips before drawing back just as fast. A blush easily consumed Killua's pale face as he suddenly stood up and covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I-Idiot!" What was that for!?"

"Hehe... I thought it would be more effective if it were sealed with an actual kiss."

"Really..." Killua grumbled and turned away, crossing his arms. Gon smiled pleasantly behind him, as Killua hid an incredibly relieved, goofy grin.

_A/N: Just felt like writing a little something after episode 130. I'm really tempted to read the manga._


End file.
